Now no one really enjoys the idea of thinking about their toilet(s). It’s one of those necessary evils that has to be in every home, cleaned on a regular basis, and is ready for you when you really need it. But since we don’t tend to think about it is exactly why we should look at it as a place to save water.

As we mentioned in our grey-water article, most toilets installed in the last century will “flush” a whopping 5 gallons of water every time you pull the handle. To properly illustrate that, think about 5 of the gallon bottles of milk filled to the top and poured one after another down the toilet. That happens every time you flush. In recent years we have seen more ultra low flow (ULF) toilets come on the market with the same amount of power as the older models but they work with only 1.5 gallons of water per flush.

Replacing your toilet is no easy task but it is one that any DIY type can do. It will typically take about 1-2 hours and you should be strong enough to remove your old toilet. You can purchase a ULF toilet at any major retailer for $100 to $600 depending on model, style, and brand. Once you have replaced your old toilet, don’t forget to bring it to the recycling center and not the dump. Some communities have an Ultra Low Flush Replacement programs in place that will get you a tax credit for replacing your current toilet with a more efficient one.

If the average household flushes 35 times a week, with a ULF you would save 122.5 gallons of water per week as compared to a 5 gallon per flush toilet. Within 2 months the new toilet will pay for itself from savings to your water bill and that savings will carry on well into the future. If you also add in a grey-water system to the mix, you can eliminate the water expense from your toilet completely.

With the onset of spring, it’s a good time to think about your vegetable buying habits and consider your options for purchasing fruits and veggies in places other than national chain grocery stores. For those of us who live in chilly climates or urban areas, grocery stores offer an abundance of produce year-round to keep us healthy and meet our nutritional needs. Once it turns warm however, we’re no longer as limited in where we can purchase produce.

By buying locally grown produce, you support regional farmers, decrease your carbon footprint (since your produce doesn’t have to be shipped across the country) and contribute to your local economy. Locally grown food tends to be fresher than supermarket produce since it doesn’t need to travel far to reach your table, and does not contribute to the agribusiness industry. And while not all smaller farms are organic, the fact that the farms are small means they probably use far less chemical fertilizer on their lands than do their mammoth corporate counterparts.

So where can you find fresh, locally grown produce…

Farmer’s Markets

Let me start by saying that i love farmer’s markets. I would one day like to own my own farm, and when I visit my local farmer’s market on Saturday mornings in the summer and fall, I talk to the farmers and learn about what you need to do to make it in this shrinking industry. Portsmouth has a great farmer’s market that’s run by the Seacoast Growers Association, and offers live music, a variety of vendors and cheap, locally grown produce. Whenever I head out to the farmer’s market here I feel as if I’m connecting with my community and I usually meet someone interesting while browsing the tomatoes or picking out flowers to take home.

Farmer’s markets provide the sole venue for over 19,000 American farmers to sell their wares, and their popularity grew 18% from 2004 to 2006 (the most recent USDA statistic). Additionally, farmer’s markets are all about getting healthy food to as many people as possible, and many farmers will accept food stamps or WIC (Women, Infants and Children) vouchers. You can find a farmer’s market in your state by checking the USDA Farmer’s Market site, by visiting Local Harvest, a website dedicated to the promotion of local and organic foods, or by searching for “farmer’s markets” and your zip code.

Farmer’s markets sell more than just fresh fruits and vegetables. At most markets you can find herbs, plants, flowers, eggs, cheese, meats and breads all produced locally. You will often find artists and craftspeople at farmer’s market as well information on community organizations and outreach programs.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Community Supported Agriculture consists of community members joining together to support a local farm and share in the farm’s output. By funding the farm’s operations over the course of a growing season, community members participate in the production of their food, and also face the same risks as do the farm. When participating in a CSA program, consumers pledge financial support of the entire growing season, thus removing the burden on the farmer to market or distribute their food via retail outlets (though some still do so).

When food is ripe, CSA participants receive their share, but do not have the same choices that they might when buying from a farmer’s market or grocery store. When you participate in CSA farming however, you are making a commitment to the farm and to your community. This kind of support tends to establish closer ties between the farmer’s and their customers, and participants tend to feel more connected with their food. You also benefit from the diversity of the farmer’s crops, and may end up eating foods that you’d never previously considered due to the often erratic nature of growing food.

You can find out more about CSA programs by checking out the USDA Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, or the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association. CSA farms are scattered about the country, and most organizations supporting their use are regional. Other links to consider include: UMass Community Supported Agriculture (supporting Greater New England), Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (supporting the Berkshires, Hudson Valley & Pioneer Valley), and the Madison Area Community Supported Agricultural Coalition (supporting southern Wisconsin).

Farmer’s markets and CSA programs aren’t your only alternatives for procuring produce locally. I will write more in a future post about Community Gardening, Cooperatively-owned Markets, and Farm Stands. In the meantime, consider checking out your local food market or doing a little research into CSAs in your area.

One of this country’s most amazing resources is its land – the US is comprised of approximately 3.7 million acres of mountains, plains, prairies, forests, deserts, and rain forests. The National Park Service maintains parks and forests in all 50 state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. In addition to our nationally protected lands, each state maintains a system of parks and forests that are safe from development and maintained for future generations to enjoy.

Federal, state, and local parks and forest conservation programs are not enough to protect threatened lands across this country. While land owners are required to observe federal, state, and local rules concerning land usage (such as zoning laws and building ordinances), in general, they are free to use their land as they see fit. And when land owners make the decision to sell their undeveloped lands, it’s often deep-pocketed developers who are happy to part with their cash in exchange for the next home of a big box store or strip mall.

Profit does not always win out in such matters, however, and organizations exist that promote land conservation by setting up land trusts, conservation easements, and by obtaining private lands for conservation.

Because not everyone is willing or able to simply donate large tracts of land for conservation purposes, land conservation organizations have developed a series of tools and techniques that they use to encourage land or financial donations and protection of lands in perpetuity. If you’re thinking about how to manage your land, or if you are interested in donating money to a land conservation project, check out some of the available options and organizations that are working to make land conservation possible in this country.

American Land Conservancy
American Land Conservancy is a national non-profit land conservation organization that conserves landscapes for the benefit of people and wildlife. American Land Conservancy achieves its conservation goals in three key ways: direct land purchase, conservation easements and through the acquisition of surface and sub-surface land rights. Interested land owners can work with American Land Conservancy to sell or donate their land, and American Land Conservancy acts as a partner by helping land owners determine the best agencies for managing their land, and in managing the overall transfer of the land. American Land Conservancy also has a Conservation Easement program, and they help owners maintain the right to their land while protecting it into the future from development or the removal of its resources.

Land Trust Alliance
According to their website, the Land Trust Alliance promotes voluntary private land conservation that benefits communities and natural systems, and is the national convener, strategist and representative of more than 1,600 land trusts across America. Interested parties can set up conservation easements, donate land, or donate money that is diverted to land trust purchases. The Land Trust Alliance also strives to educate people on how public policy affects land usage and conservation, and provides information on their site that discusses land conservation in the news and in public policy. They also have a Lobbying 101 page on their website, and encourage people to lobby their elected officials about land conservation policies.

The Nature Conservancy
Probably the best known of the land conservation organizations, The Nature Conservancy’s mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The Nature Conservancy works to actively protect threatened lands from harm through a series of Conservation Initiatives. They also use a science-based philosophy to identify threatened lands and develop solutions that can be used to return those lands to conserved states, and purchases land for conservation purposes. You can also Adopt-an-Acre of a Costa Rican rain forest with a charitable gift, or specify that your donation be used to Rescue a Coral Reef.

In addition to these and other national organizations, there are numerous smaller organizations that work on the local level around the country in helping people preserve land within their communities. Trustees of Reservation in Massachusetts has an extensive Land Conservation program, and maintains over 100 properties in the state. If you are considering donating money or land to a conservation organization and want to stay local, check with one of the larger conservation organizations to find an appropriate partner. You can also a basic search and plug in your local information, or call your local government for recommendations.

Land conservation organizations have preserved over 37 million acres of land through these kinds of practices. If you can’t donate land, consider becoming a member of one of these organizations or donating money outright. While we can’t save every acre from being developed, we can actively participate in protecting fragile ecosystems, virgin forests and other vulnerable parcels from environmental ruin.

This past week I was lucky enough to see Stonyfield Farm Chairman, President, and “CE-Yo,” Gary Hirshberg, give a lecture at the RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth, NH. On my way home from an evening walk, I noticed the bookstore was filled with people and decided to stop in and see what was going on. Am I happy that I stopped! Not only is Hirshberg a fantastic speaker, but his lecture touched on all things environmental, from organic farming and foods to solid waste management and conservation at the highest levels of business.

Hirshberg has a new book, Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World, and is on an extensive book tour promoting his efforts and touting tips on how to cut your carbon emissions, use fewer resources and still turn a profit. I thought he was an extremely good speaker – his honesty and sincerity were evident from the start of his talk, and you could just tell that his passion for saving the planet is real.

In addition to letting us in on his past – from his beginnings at The New Alchemy Institute on Cape Code – to his recent conversations with CEOs of major companies including Wal-Mart, Hirshberg shared stories about how Stonyfield Farms is doing their part to be a steward to the environment by managing their externalities, reducing waste, and recycling anything that’s left over.

While I’ve not yet had a chance to purchase his book, I intend on doing so. Hirshberg uses the text in order to call on individuals and businesses:

to realize their power to effect change in the marketplace – ‘the power of one’ – while proving that environmental commitment makes for a healthier planet and a healthier bottom line.

And in listening to Hirshberg, I truly got the sense that not only does he believe in his philosophy, but that he wants to do everything possible to make his philosophy a reality for as many people as humanly possible. Part of what made his talk so compelling too, was his emphasis on the positive – he wasn’t all gloom and doom when speaking about the challenges of changing human behavior in order to save the environment. Rather, Hirshberg offered an attitude of optimism, and made me feel that all of the little things I do on my own may actually make a difference in the long run.

Hirshberg also spoke extensively about Stonyfield Farm’s non-profit foundation, Climate Counts – an organization that fosters a “collaborative effort to bring consumers and companies together in the fight against global climate change.” One of the services that Climate Counts provides is a Scorecard that grades major corporations on their environmental responsibilities. I checked out the tool and was surprised to see how poorly companies including CBS and Levi Strauss scored, and also how well Nike and IBM did on their scores.

What I found most interesting about the entire lecture however, was learning about all of Stonyfield’s environmental initiatives. At the farm, nothing is wasted, and they really strive to make green changes with every new product they create, and with all of their existing products. Additionally, Stonyfield Farm gives 10% of its profits to environmentally-friendly organizations, has its carbon emissions offset 100%, and invites their customers to return their yogurt containers to the farm so they can be recycled into spoons and other products.

Check out Stonyfield Fams if you get a chance – and by the way, their yogurt is great too!